By Henry Walsh
Arts Reporter
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past five years, you’ve heard of the musical sensations Justin Bieber and One Direction. The two forces of nature have dominated the pop landscape with hit after hit after both of them became viral in what seems to be the most millennial way possible.
Bieber got his start singing covers that racked up millions of views on YouTube, eventually bumping into Usher in a mall and kick-starting a career. Still, he didn’t become a dominant force in the industry until he released his inescapable—for better or worse—song “Baby”.
One Direction’s five original members auditioned individually for the British TV show The X-Factor and were brought together as similarly to Little Mix, the winners of last season, and current chart-dominators, Fifth Harmony. They were marketed to death immediately with tours, magazine quizzes, and life-sized cardboard cutouts.
Both musical entities have been slowly maturing as they release new albums, most notably with One Direction’s most genre-bending record, Midnight Memories, and Justin Bieber’s meltdown. Any music he did release during his fall from grace did not fare well.
Midnight Memories was a similar departure from the group’s usual sound. It saw them embracing a more intriguing acoustic sound on “Story Of My Life” and a more arena rock sound on the title track. This was also the only album where, more often than not, you could identify and remember whose voice was whose. The most recent album by the group since then, Four, was an unwelcome return to tweeny bopper-pleasing pop that wouldn’t stick in your head no matter how hard you tried.
On the most recent effort, however, the former quintet (now quartet, thanks to departed member Zayn Malik) gives their same old pop jams a new life. They all sound slightly hollow on a few of their songs, but not in the vast majority.
The opening track, “Hey Angel,” actually makes some of the cheesiest lyrics the group has ever used sound the most believable they ever have. The Coldplay-imitating track “Infinity” has some merit with the attempted departure from their traditional sound, working out a lot better than you would expect. “History” is an acoustic jam that sounds like it will play very well in concert and not strain the boys’ voices very much. Finally, their single “Drag Me Down” is the only song on here that could have any staying power with people other than Directioners, except for maybe “Infinity.”
Overall, Harry, Louis, Niall and Liam seem to be making do without Zayn in their group, although the loss of him does cost the group by making it at least 20% less attractive and 20% more wonderbread.
Bieber, however, is making a plea. He really just wants his fans back. In a move that is all too reminiscent of the pathetic Robin Thicke record “Paula,” the songs on this album seem directly related to a burning need to get Selena Gomez back. Bieber’s desperate attempt to win Gomez back, , especially evident in “Sorry,” is somewhat ironic since her most recent album, “Revival,” was made to get over him.
This melodramatic piece sees Bieber attempting to simultaneously make himself seem like he regrets his actions and try to shift the blame onto his ex. This theme continues on his song “No Pressure” where he acts gentlemanly in his lyrics but his guest Big Sean ends up calling the subject a “ho.” This inconsistency is a problem throughout the album and although the beats are tighter and more solid than on the 1D album, Bieber falls short on authenticity and makes the experience awkward for the listener.
Overall, the comparison is simple. Which album did I enjoy listening to more? In the end, authenticity mattered more. Bieber has swag, but he’s tripped and fallen on it far too many times. When I listen to the two albums, I have higher expectations for a comeback album by Bieber if he wants to win us over entirely. He didn’t even meet my lowest expectations. If you want to apologize, at least try to make it sound genuine.
Overall Grades:
One Direction’s Made In the A.M.: B+
Justin Bieber’s Purpose: C
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